The National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) takes place annually from December 14 – January 5 and has been in existence for 118 years, making it the longest-running wildlife census in the country. Join with other birders to collect important information that is used to assess the health of the nation’s bird populations. For trends shown by CBC data, see the Audubon’s “State of the Birds” report at http://birds.audubon.org/state-birds.

ALL LEVELS ARE WELCOME: Beginning birders will be paired with more experienced observers. This is a great way to learn more about the birds in your area. DRESS WARMLY!

2017-2018 Christmas Bird Counts in the local area:

December 16, 2017 (Saturday) – Marquette –
The compiler is Melinda Stamp at mstamp@mstamp.net or 906-869-2489.Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot at Mattson Lower Harbor Park in Marquette.No advanced registration is necessary. Feeder forms are available by pre-registering with Melinda. The count circle covers a 7.5-mile radius centered on Old City Hall at 4th & Washington St.

December 17, 2017 (Sunday) – AuTrainThe compiler is Scott Hickman at suboscine@gmail.com or 906-892-8603.Please use the email address for communication since count information is distributed by email. Please let Scott know at least 4 days in advance if you want to participate so that count circle coverage can be properly coordinated and communicated to all participants.

The 21st Gwinn Christmas Bird Count (CBC), held on January 3, yielded exactly 1000 birds of 28 species. Historically, the CBC was originally conducted for eight years from 1980 to 1987. In 2002, the count was resurrected, shifted to early January, and completed every year except for one since.During the 1980’s, the Gwinn CBC averaged 20 species annually. Since 2002, that average has increased to 25. Within this present series, 15 species have been recorded nearly every year. The average number of individual birds seen since 2002 is 940. The three most common species reported this year, Black-capped Chickadee (historical rank #1), Rock Pigeon (#3), and Blue Jay (#9), constituted 55% of all individual birds seen.

Bald Eagles by Beth Olson on the Gwinn CBC

As usual, no waterbirds were detected this year. Finches, while not at all numerous, were far more prevalent than last year. Six species were encountered, although goldfinches were drastically reduced from the record 505 birds in 2014. The last major local incursion of northern finches dates back to 2009.

Of the 28 species found this CBC, 18 were more numerous than average. The greatest deviations above historical means occurred among Rock Pigeon, Blue Jay, and Brown Creeper. Species much less common than usual included Common Raven and American Goldfinch. Whereas Bald Eagles, Wild Turkeys, Red-bellied Woopeckers, and Cardinals continue to demonstrate local increases, Common Ravens and Evening Grosbeak have been steadily declining.

The third annual Michigamme Highlands Christmas Bird Count was held last Sunday, 12/28. Eleven participants counted a total of 977 birds from 25
species. This ties our species count from the first year and is up from 21 recorded in 2013. We added two new species this time, Barred Owl and Pine Siskin, which brings us to a cumulative total of 34 species over the three years.

Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, and Boreal Chickadee were all found once
again, but in their lowest numbers yet, with one, two, and three individuals
of each species recorded, respectively. This compares to high counts of 5
BBWO, 17 GRAJ, and 20 BOCH, all recorded in 2012. Downy and Hairy
Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, and Black-capped Chickadee all also had
their lowest totals yet, though with a sample size of only three years and
considerably more party-hours in 2012 compared to 2013 and 2014, combined
with the count being held 11 days later this year, it’s impossible to even
begin to judge whether these low counts represent anything occurring with
the actual populations.

Interestingly, though they were new for the count, Pine Siskins made up just
under half of all individuals tallied (466 of 977). As with last year no
crossbills were found, but Pine Grosbeak, Purple Finch, Common Redpoll,
American Goldfinch, and Evening Grosbeak were all recorded.

We experienced relatively warm weather and calm winds on Saturday, Dec. 20, and general consensus was that because of the good weather, birds were not concentrated in the areas they would be in worse conditions: feeders and harbors. Overall bird numbers seemed low, but we ended up with a respectable 44 species, plus 5 more during count week.

Notable species: Northern Pintail (count week, observed on Sunday at Dead River) is a new species for the count. Wood Duck has been observed on 3 of the past 4 Marquette counts, all at the Dead River. Merlin (count week, observed at Founder’s Landing on Monday) has been reported on 4 other counts. White-crowned Sparrow has been reported on 4 other counts. Two Northern Shrikes were seen at Cherry Creek and the Marquette compost yard. Three flocks of Bohemian waxwings were seen in Shiras Hills, Harbor View Dr., and Morgan Meadows. Also notable were Red-bellied Woodpeckers at 3 locations, a Belted Kingfisher at the Carp River in Negaunee twp., 1 each Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawk, Glaucous, a Great black-backed and a Thayer’s gull.

Significant misses were Horned Grebe, House Sparrow (becoming harder to find in the Marquette area), Snowy Owl which had been seen in the circle before and after our count week, and Purple Finch (all finch numbers seem to be extremely low in our area this winter.)

This morning eight of us birded our way up the Peshekee Grade in Marquette
County for the annual field trip held by the Laughing Whitefish Audubon
Society. We were all a bit surprised to find nearly 6″ of snow already on
the ground there, and by midmorning more was coming down hard. That didn’t
stop us from seeing some great birds though. After turning up the Peshekee
Grade, the first bird we encountered was a SPRUCE GROUSE in the road! This
is only the second one I’ve seen in Marquette County, so it was an exciting
way to start the day. Our next sighting, just south of South Arfelin Lake
Rd., was a mixed flock containing several Black-capped Chickadees and
Red-breasted Nuthatches along with a pair of BOREAL CHICKADEES. Then after
watching this flock for a while, a pair of GRAY JAYS flew in! Finally, at
the McCormick Tract we hit the highlight of the day, running into a gorgeous
female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER just off the trail. She barely seemed to
notice our presence, and we all had amazing looks for a couple minutes
before she flew off.

Yesterday morning (8/9) I led a group of birders on a tour around the Bog Walk on Presque Isle in Marquette for the monthly walk sponsored by the Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society. We had great weather and a wonderful assortment of birds, with some signs that fall is upon us.

Apparent family groups of Black-capped Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, and Red-winged Blackbirds were wandering throughout. And some species, such as Common Grackle and Black-throated Green Warbler, which had been abundant on my previous walks this summer, were conspicuously absent today. We also had the great fortune to view a couple Cape May Warblers foraging high in a Tamarack.

Other highlights included a Merlin which made a pass directly over our heads to harass a couple American Goldfinches, a lone Tree Swallow which may be one of the last I see before they head south, excellent views of a group of five Eastern Bluebirds, and a very cooperative female-type Ruby-throated Hummingbird which perched in front of us for several minutes!

Thanks to all the birds and birders who came out today, I look forward to next time, on September 13! Here’s a complete list of today’s birds.

Welcome to the new website for the Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society! We are a local chapter of the Audubon Society serving Marquette and Alger Counties in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. For more information, including the schedule of upcoming programs and events, see the tabs near the top of this page and watch this space for future updates!